Maybe @Strombone1 — a.k.a. Luongo — believed he was heading to Toronto in a trade and figured he might moonlight as a catcher for the Jays once he got here. After all, once you’ve plucked a Taylor Hall slapshot out of the air, how hard can it be to snare one of those fluttering Dickey knucklers?

Alas, Roberto Luongo isn’t going anywhere in the near future. Other than that seat at the end of the Vancouver Canucks’ bench, that is.

Thursday is Roberto Luongo’s birthday. As a present, he would have loved to be shipped out of Vancouver to a place where he was wanted, a place where he could be a No. 1 goalie.

The Canucks did try to make him a Maple Leaf.

As the clock ticked down toward the 3 p.m. trade deadline Wednesday, there reportedly were numerous calls from the left coast to the Air Canada Centre.

All for naught.

And in his own words, there is a good reason why he wasn’t dealt to Toronto or anywhere else.

Luongo, who has a no-trade clause in his pact, has 10 years remaining on a 12-year contract that’s worth $64 million (U.S.). He’ll be 44 by the time the deal runs out.

Those are the types of numbers that likely had any potentially interested general managers agreeing that, yes, it does “suck.”

“I’d scrap it if I could right now,” Luongo said. “It’s a hit on your pride that teams aren’t willing to give up much. Obviously, that doesn’t mean it’s a knock on me, but my situation with my contract. It’s a tough spot to be in for myself, for the organization and for everyone involved.

“Obviously, the time isn’t now and we have to wait.”

Wait for what?

For Canucks GM Mike Gillis, who must shoulder much of the blame for this mess, to finally pull the trigger on a deal he hasn’t been able to make since last summer?

“These days are very emotional for everybody,” Gillis said. “When you have a day like this where your whole life can be turned upside down and then you speak to (the media) right after, there’s a chance for things to be said that in the clear light of day might not be reflective of how he really feels.”

Or maybe, just maybe, Luongo’s comments were exactly reflective of how he really feels.

Luongo admitted having a queasy feeling in his tummy Tuesday night. Deep down, that likely was a symptom of a guy who finally thought he’d be escaping the asylum and getting a new start.

He probably could have had one last summer. But reports from the left coast indicated Gillis wanted too much. There were some suggestions that the Canucks were seeking a Nazem Kadri-Tyler Bozak-first round pick package. Good luck with that.

Dave Nonis was the man who, while the GM of the Canucks, brought Luongo to Vancouver in a one-sided 2006 trade with Florida, but even he was smart enough not to be fished in to overpay for the veteran goalie.

Now, given the fact that the Canucks will be pressed up against a salary cap that will drop to $64.2 million next season, perhaps their only option is a mutual agreement between player and team to walk away from the remaining $40 million of the deal come the summer.

Until then, Luongo, who has shown grace under pressure, will still be the focus of this Luongo-Cory Schneider soap opera.

On Wednesday, for example, Luongo left practice with 10 minutes remaining. Management claims it was done in case a transaction involving him took place just before the deadline.

Either way, the optics were bad. Luongo’s departure from the ice ignited a Twitter frenzy suggesting he had been traded, perhaps to Toronto.

Maybe @Strombone1 — a.k.a. Luongo — believed he was heading to Toronto in a trade and figured he might moonlight as a catcher for the Jays once he got here. After all, once you’ve plucked a Taylor Hall slapshot out of the air, how hard can it be to snare one of those fluttering Dickey knucklers?

Alas, Roberto Luongo isn’t going anywhere in the near future. Other than that seat at the end of the Vancouver Canucks’ bench, that is.

Thursday is Roberto Luongo’s birthday. As a present, he would have loved to be shipped out of Vancouver to a place where he was wanted, a place where he could be a No. 1 goalie.

The Canucks did try to make him a Maple Leaf.

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In trying to break down who the winners and losers of Trade Deadline 2015 are, the true champions won’t be determined until after the whistle has tooted on the final game of the 2015 NHL regular season.

Chris Stewart is heading to Minnesota, Jeff Petry’s a Hab, Zbynek Michalek and Olli Jokinen are Blues, Michal Neuvirth is off to Long Island, Braydon Coburn is Tampa bound, Marek Zidlicky is on his way to Hockeytown, James Wisniewski’s a Duck and Brett Connolly has a ticket for Beantown.